Brendan Cole's Strictly Come Dancing column: 'It's right that Anastacia and I got voted out this week'

Brendan spills about how fatigue is kicking in and why the pros need more credit...​

30/10/2016

Brendan Cole is giving Digital Spy his take on all the Strictly Come Dancing action this series, so read on to find out how he's feeling about leaving the competition, why people don't realise how hard the pros work, and how the fatigue is starting to set in…

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Sadly, Anastacia and I were eliminated from the competition this week

But it's alright. Somebody must go every week - there's only one couple left standing at the end of the day. Our time came, we were the worst on the leaderboard, so I think it's probably right that we went. We did not do the best dance on the show, we were definitely one of the weaker dancers given the standard this year and we did a good dance-off but Aljaz and Daisy were better.

I think Anastacia also took the news very philosophically. You know the process and you know eventually that your time is likely to come at some point, and the idea is that you hope it's a little bit later than what your expectations were. But it's no bad thing to get to the Halloween show! At least we got to dance in it, and there are some great dancers left.

Guy Levy

I was still recovering from my chest infection - but I won't use that as an excuse!

I was at a point where I knew I could do what I needed to do to give Anastacia what she needed, but I was definitely still struggling. It's not easy recovering from a chest infection, so I wasn't at full health but I was well enough to work with Anastacia, and I certainly enjoyed being back in the show and being able to take part.

You could say that Anastacia and I had bad luck with my illness and her injury, but I wouldn't use it as an excuse because every dance is a new challenge and you make the most of whatever situation you've got. The week after we had the bad luck with Anastacia's injury, we were very fortunate because we had a Viennese waltz which wasn't affected by it. And then the following week we were able to do a rumba which again we tailored to it so it wasn't a problem, it was just part of our situation.

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Brendan Cole

And actually when I was off sick it probably invigorated Anastacia - she got to dance with a new partner and she got that extra boost of excitement. I think she had a really good week with Gorka, they suited each other and it's not the same-old you've been having week upon week. It's like that honeymoon period - those first few weeks when it's all new and exciting.

And no, I'm not angry with Craig for giving us a 4…

Brendan Cole

The thing is, I tend to agree with Craig more than I agree with anybody else! So I wasn't upset. I was kind of like, 'Oh, 4's a bit harsh, come on!' I don't necessarily think our dance was a 4, but then again, compared to what he marked everyone else, it's relative. It could have been worse if he really picked holes in it. Even the guys that do really well, you can still find a lot of faults within what they do if you choose to.

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We saw people out there last night getting 9s for routines that had quite a few mistakes and I find that more weird than Craig giving us a 4! To be honest, these guys have only been dancing a dance for one week - if you wanted to give it a 1, you could. But this is a process and a week of dancing to try to get to a relatively good standard and make it look good. Once the dance is over, if you asked the celebs what the technique was, they probably wouldn't be able to tell you!

Brendan Cole

Here are Judge Rinder and Oksana in rehearsals. This was one of my stand-out performances as a concept last night. I loved the Judge and Oksana's whole performance!

People say Ed should be going - but I think he deserved to stay this week

Ed and Kat did a great job this week. They got their dance spot on - Katya choreographed a really, really good routine for him. Musically, it was perfect - he kept his timing, he kept the atmosphere of the dance up. I actually think he did a very good job - it was one of my standout dances of the evening. So they definitely should have stayed. The week before I didn't think he was particularly good, but this week they were brilliant.

Guy Levy

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But the fatigue is starting to kick in among the celebrities now

We saw people like Danny and Ore struggling last night - the pressure is definitely there. Over my 14 years, I've always found the midway point is a really crucial point in the whole Strictly process. I think everyone's done about 10 weeks of training by now - fatigue is starting to set in, monotony is starting to set in and the end is a long way in sight.

We've still got seven or eight shows still to go, which is a very long time in the Strictly world, because you can see the injuries starting to show, you can see the fatigue starting to show, and of course everybody's working with the same people day in and day out. Once you've passed the halfway point then it's kind of the home straight and there's a new lease of life because you really want to get to the end, whereas now the end is so far off and you're just trying to survive week by week.

Brendan Cole

The make-up, costume and creative departments do a phenomenal job, especially on a show like last night's!

And I felt so bad for Natalie when she got upset last night

I think people underestimate what the pros go through because essentially we're doing the same thing as the celebs are doing. We're still going out there and putting ourselves on the line. We're up for being critiqued by the judges, by the punters watching the show, by our celebrities.

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What Natalie was most upset about was the fact that she felt after hearing the comments that she may have let her partner down, which in my mind she absolutely did not. She did a great job and theirs was one of my favourite dances of the night. I think Craig, as harsh as he was, was actually very complimentary because he said if it had been a show piece he could have potentially given it a 10. That's more important than getting the technique of the rumba 100% right for me. Greg's not a dancer, so she's trying to create a performance and I think she did it perfectly - unfortunately she did get a 4 for it. I think she was concerned that she had potentially let Greg down but for me she didn't - she did him every favour in the world because she actually gave him a routine that he really looked good in.

Guy Levy

The pros are under pressure to get the job right, we don't always get it right, and when we don't, the onus sort of comes back on to us - especially from our partners. If they start feeling that we're not getting the job right, that can be frustrating as well because ultimately you're trying to give them your best every week.

I've done over 150 dances on this show - it's a lot of pressure to get every single one of those right and the one time you get it slightly wrong or misjudge something… It could be something as simple as, 'I think my partner's going to be amazing at this', and then you put something together and they're not, and you don't realise that until Wednesday or Thursday, when it's too bloody late. So that's a tricky thing and of course the producers want you to produce the best thing you can possibly produce every single week. There are so many aspects that you are not in control of and then aspects that you are in control of that are very critiqued.

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Now, everyone is in danger of being voted off the show!

Guy Levy

Last night was probably the first night where only two or three celebrities were maybe safe, and that was a big maybe, whereas in the past few weeks you're going, 'They're going to be safe because they've got top marks'. I kind of figured Anastacia and I would be in the dance-off because of our position on the leaderboard, but I was genuinely stood there last night going, 'Crikey, it could be anybody'.

Daisy and Aljaz were in the dance-off for the second week in a row. I have my thoughts on why, but it's a hard one because she actually did a very good dance last night. I think it was just a big show and there were a lot of standout performances - you even think about the likes of Ed. That was a proper showstopper. I suppose you've got to create something that people want to spend their money on - they've got to want to pick up the phone to vote or they've got to want to take the time to go online and register and vote. That's quite a big thing for people to do so you've got to inspire people to do it.

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As the judges pointed out, Daisy's dance didn't have the attack that the paso doble needs. It was still a very good dance, but maybe it just wasn't right on the night for people to want to vote for her or vote for them as a couple.

BBCIt Takes Two

I'm back to just watching the show now - and it's bittersweet

For me, the show won't have the same excitement now as being there and doing a dance. I love being out on that floor, I love being on the stage dancing in front of people, and now I can't do that as part of the main show although I get to do it as part of the results show. So that's disappointing. But this is my 14th season so I'm no stranger to it!

On one hand, it's going to be hard not being a part of it - on the other hand, this show can be very stressful and there is so much involved in it. To have a day or two off even just to help with my recovery of being ill last week, it's not going to be a bad thing, but I'll definitely miss not being out there performing with Anastacia.

Winner of the week: I have to go with Greg and Natalie and Ed and Katya. As a performance, as a concept, and especially on a week like Halloween Week where it's so important to get the feeling right for the show, they both delivered that. I think in terms of their partnerships, the pros deserved the praise as much as the celebs on those two dances because they were crucial to the success of them.

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